Her Dark Melody

by Michelle Love

  “Good. That’s good, sweet girl. My cock is inside you now, filling you, plowing deep inside you again and again until you see stars in your eyes …Elli?”

  Almost delirious, Elli gasped her “Yes?”

  “Are you free tomorrow? Can I come see you?”

  Elli came as she sighed, “Yes, yes, yes …”

  Aldo gave a satisfied laugh. “Good …tomorrow, then?”

  Elli chuckled, still catching her breath. “Tomorrow, Aldo.”

  All traces of her earlier fear had long fled as she said goodnight and fell straight asleep, thoroughly sated.

  Two weeks later—two long weeks full of every manner of fucking, whether or not Elli and Aldo were in the same —room—Vivienne met with Elli for lunch. After an enjoyable thirty minutes spent discussing everything under the sun, Vivienne finally got around to work talk. Only, because Vivienne was Vivienne and her radar missed nothing, work had a double meaning. “Girl, this article is one of your best. Hands down. How’d you get him to open up so much?”

  Elli could feel her face burn a little, thinking of all the different kinds of opening up she and Aldo had been doing. “He’s very … loquacious when you get him on the right topic. His work in Uganda, his love of art. He even told me some stuff about his personal life, but I felt it didn’t add anything to the article and it would be taking advantage of a personal tragedy.”

  . “You’re sleeping with him,” Vivienne said bluntly, not asking.

  Hiding things from her best friend was an impossibility. “Maybe …”

  Vivienne grinned from ear to ear. “Well, hallelujah. So, are you two an ‘item?’”

  Elli laughed then, taking a sip of wine. “Yeah, Grandma, we’re a-courtin’. No, I think, for me, it’s just a pleasant fling.”

  “And what about for him?” Vivienne pressed, pushing her plate back and waving a waiter over to remove it before refilling her glass. “Aldo Constanza doesn’t strike me as a man to do things by half. You sure he doesn’t think you two are serious?”

  Elli shrugged. “We haven’t talked about it, but, Viv, I won’t let it affect my work here, I swear. I’m scared that if I get too involved and it ends badly, it could mean Aldo withdrawing his investment.”

  Vivienne looked vaguely horrified. “Elli, your sex life is your business. Don’t let Aldo dictate things like that.”

  “Oh, he’s not, Viv. I’m sorry if it came out that way. I mean, my work is my passion. That’s the most important thing to me.”

  Studying her intently, Vivienne covered Elli’s hand with her own. “Would you say that if we were talking about Indio Navaro?”

  A bolt of pain shot through Elli, leaving her feeling like she’d been ambushed. “But we’re not.”

  Immediately remorseful, Vivienne rounded the table and sat down beside Ellie, hugging her close. “Oh, sweetheart. I say this is as your friend and because I love you. It’s been eight years, Elli. You have to start looking to the future. Indio’s not coming back, however much you keep your heart hidden from everyone else. Aldo Constanza is gorgeous, delicious, and he believes in your work.”

  Elli sat back, looking away for a second to regain her composure. “I know, and you’re right about …Indio.” Why did it still hurt so much to say his name? It was like a thousand swords being plunged into her heart. Elli rubbed her eyes and Vivienne smiled.

  “If I did that, I’d look like a panda,” she said. “I will never stop being jealous of the fact you don’t have to wear makeup, girl. Just don’t throw this thing with Aldo away because of an old attachment, no matter how much Indio once meant to you. That’s all I’m saying.”

  “He didn’t once mean something to me,” Elli muttered, reaching for her empty wine glass just to do something with her hands. “He still does, Viv.”

  “And he always will, I know. But you can temper that meaning so that you still have a chance at a meaningful relationship, Elliana. A real relationship.”

  “As opposed to a ghost one.” Elli nodded, stifling a sigh. “Yes. Yes. I know.”

  Aldo came to meet her as Elli was leaving the office. He kissed her passionately, not caring who saw them on the crowded street.

  “Mm, I’ve missed you today, Elli Bella.”

  Elli hated that he called her that—it had been Indio’s nickname for her. Then she pulled herself up—so what? It was as sweet a name for her and Indio didn’t own it. He would never say those words again, so what did it matter? She smiled up at Aldo, stroking the short hair over his ear.

  “Shall we spend tonight at my place? We always seem to be going to your home.”

  Aldo tightened his arms around her. “Ah, but there’s more space at mine. Come back with me, Elli. I have a surprise for you.”

  Elli pushed away from the annoyance she felt. Every time she had seen Aldo since that first time when they had eaten pizza together, it had been assumed that they would spend the night at his villa. Did he think her place wasn’t suitable for a man such as himself? She didn’t want to argue, though, not out in public like this, so she agreed, giving him a half-smile as he took her hand and led her to his car.

  At his villa, he placed his hands over her eyes and then steered her into his vast living room. “Open.”

  Elli opened her eyes and gave a delighted laugh. A huge Christmas tree stood, its lights twinkling in the dim light of the living room. “Oh, Aldo, it’s so beautiful.”

  He kissed the soft skin on the inside of her wrist. “I remember you telling me that you missed having Christmas with your family and that your apartment was too small for you to have a tree. So I thought of this.”

  Elli felt tears in her eyes and felt badly for her earlier irritation. She touched Aldo’s face, then went to examine the tree. She breathed in the fresh scent of pine and admired the glitter and sparkle of the gold decorations. It was opulent, extravagant, and exquisitely decorated—a far cry from when Enzo and Indio used to haul in a bedraggled tree from the garden and make paper decorations for it. Elli knew that it was improbable that Aldo had decorated this tree himself, but it was still a thoughtful gesture.

  She felt his hand on her back. “You like it?”

  She nodded, turning to kiss him. “It’s beautiful.”

  He took her face in his hands, studying her eyes. “It pales in comparison to you, beautiful girl.” His lips touched hers and Elli sank into the kiss, Aldo’s hands roaming over her body leisurely before his fingers pulled at the zipper of her dress. She grinned at him as the dress fell to the floor, and Aldo smiled back, pulling her to him roughly, so her belly curved against his shirt. “There is no comparison when I see your body like this, except for when …” And he unclasped her bra and drew her panties down. “You should always be naked, Elliana Moretti. The world would thank you. I have a gift for you.”

  He bent down and picked up a box, giftwrapped in silver and gold with an off-white bow. Carefully, Elli peeled the paper away, wanting to save it for no reason other than the memory. The box beneath matched the wrapping paper, metallic colors gleaming in the low light as Elli slid her thumbs into an indentation on each end and popped the lid off. She drew in her breath at the incredible necklace embedded in soft velvet, white gold and diamonds glistening at her like the gleam in Aldo’s eyes when she looked up to thank him

  “It’s beautiful,” she murmured, lifting it out and starting to put it to her neck, then stopping in confusion as she realized that there was a lot more to the opulent strand than she had initially thought.

  Smiling, Aldo reached for the piece of jewelry. “It’s a body chain. Here let me put it on for you.”

  He put the delicate chain over her head, the light metal feeling cool across her bare skin, and crisscrossed it between her breasts, over her belly, and between her legs. Elli looked down at herself in amazement; she had to admit it looked good against her caramel skin, the diamonds twinkling in the light of the Christmas tree’s own illuminations.

  Aldo stepped back and admired her body. “
Wow. Just wow …Elli, you have the body of a goddess …”

  Elli smiled, feeling very sensual now and completely sexy in this man’s presence. Aldo quietly swept her off of her feet and lay her on the thick carpet before stripping off his tie. “I’m going to touch you now, Elli, and caress you until you beg for my cock …but I want to make you shiver in anticipation and the best way to do that is …” He wound his tie around her eyes, blindfolding her. Elli shivered straight away, feeling vulnerable, and she heard Aldo give a low chuckle. “That’s right, Elliana …you’re at my mercy.”

  Her breath hitching and trembling, she waited for his touch.

  Aldo gazed down at the beautiful woman on his carpet and smiled. This is what he had wanted--having her helpless, desperate for his touch. He began by kissing her lips and throat, then trailing his lips across her collar bones, taking each nipple into his mouth and teasing the small bud of each, stroking his hand down her soft belly and between her legs, then stopping just before he reached her clit, teasing and tormenting her. He stripped off his clothes, hefting the weight of his cock in his hand as it hardened at the sight of her. He lay down, taking her hands and pinning them above her head, his body covering hers, his weight on her tiny frame.

  “You are mine tonight, Elliana.”

  Elli gasped as he began to push his cock into her, then withdrew, doing it again and again until she nearly screamed with frustration, then thrust it in deep, pushing her legs apart until he knew her hips were objecting, sore and burning. Good. In the morning, he wanted her to ache and to feel the aftermath of the way he was going to fuck her tonight. Feel it in every part of her delicious body. As his thrusts began to get hard and deeper, he gathered her to him, his mouth on her lips, her throat, his teeth biting her shoulders, her breasts. Elli clung to him as his lovemaking became almost frenzied and he heard her give a small cry of pain as he rammed his cock deeper inside her, but he ignored it. She was his and his alone.

  He came, shuddering and groaning her name as she panted beneath him. He kissed her tenderly, stroking her clit until she too came. He rolled off her and propped himself up on his elbow to watch her as she caught her breath. He pushed the blindfold from her eyes and studied them. “Principessa, was that not good for you?”

  Elli nodded, but he could see wariness and hesitation in her eyes. “It was, Aldo …thank you.”

  He laughed. “You’re thanking me for sex?”

  Elli chuckled too, running her hand over her face. “Sorry, I’m just a little dazed.”

  “Do you feel well?”

  “Oh, yes, fine. Just a little …I’ve never had sex like that before and it …scared me a little. The intensity. Being blindfolded.” She chewed her bottom lip nervously as she looked up at him.

  Aldo frowned. “You’re not scared of me, surely?” He leaned in and kissed her lips softly. “You need never be afraid of me, sweet one.”

  But Elli didn’t look convinced, and Aldo decided that he needed to be tender from now on. “I’m sorry if I frightened you, Elli. I had not thought that it might be too much, but now I can see it was. Please don’t be scared.”

  She relaxed a little, half-smiling at him. “I’m just not as experienced as some women you might have dated. I’m a solitary creature by nature, Aldo. I have never felt the need to be coupled-up, or to always be in a relationship. The men I have slept with have always been good friends first. With you, it’s different.”

  “We’re not friends?” He felt a little stung and Elli touched his face.

  “Of course we are, Aldo. I meant those other men were friends of long-standing, who just happened, at different moments, to be the right guy at the right time. You and I, we had an unusual start.”

  Aldo smiled at her, brushing his lips against hers. “Ours was romantic.”

  “Yeah,” Elli looked at him askance, then laughed, “Concussions are so sexy.”

  He grinned. “You know what I mean.”

  She relented. “I do.”

  Reaching for another box, this one not wrapped, Aldo pressed it into Elli’s hands. “This gift is more practical,” he whispered in her ear, nibbling at it as she mildly protested what she deemed his ‘extravagance,’ then laughing when the box was open, revealing a simple white satin robe.

  “I thought you liked me to wander around naked,” she teased, kissing him in thanks.

  “I do,” he assured her, running his hands over her bare body once more. “But occasionally you might get chilly. I wouldn’t want that …”

  He made sure, for the next hour or so, that she was anything but.

  Later, after they had dinner, they sat together, drinking scotch and watching the tree lights twinkle. Aldo stroked Elli’s face and was quiet for a while. “Elli, spend Christmas with me. I hate to think of you alone in that tiny apartment. Spend it with me here, and we will eat too much food, drink too much champagne, and watch cheesy movies.”

  Elli half-smiled at him. “Are you sure? What about your family?”

  Aldo sighed. “My father will be skiing with his wife in Austria; my younger brother, Antonio, is at college in the United States and does not intend to beg around his boring older brother. So, you see, I’m as alone as you.”

  He looked playfully mournful, but Elli felt stung by his words. Was she really that pathetic? She rubbed her forehead, trying to stave off a headache. She occasionally still got one in the aftermath of the concussion, but this one felt different.

  “Are you all right?”

  Always watching. The thought hit Elli, but she brushed it away. Don’t be unfair, girl. He’s just concerned. “A headache. Maybe I should go home.”

  He kissed her cheek and looked at her in concern. “Nonsense. Look, I’ll get some aspirin for you, and some water, and you can go lie down.”

  When she was alone, Elli stared at the fire that Aldo had lit earlier, her emotions in turmoil. Was she just freaking out because it looked like she was about to embark on a relationship, whether she liked it or not—and she’d always studious avoided any type of commitment?

  Vivienne’s words came back to her. Indio is gone, has been gone, for eight years. He’s not coming back.

  “I know, I know,” Elli murmured to herself and scrubbed at her face with her hands. She wasn’t being fair to the lovely man in whose house she sat and in whose bed she experienced great sex and tenderness. Earlier, she had wanted to run when he got too intense, but she had talked herself down from it. It hadn’t been violent or degrading, just more forceful than she was comfortable with. Maybe that’s what it feels like when it’s not a fuck of convenience, she told herself. Because how would you know otherwise, Moretti?

  She squeezed her eyes shut, willing the headache to go away. A moment later, she felt a cold, damp towel being pressed against her forehead. It felt so good, she had to smile. “You are the sweetest man,” she said softly, and Aldo responded by kissing her softly on her lips.

  “Here, sweet girl, take these.” He dropped a couple of aspirin in her hand and gave her the glass of water. “You should go lie down.”

  Elli opened her eyes and smiled at him. “If you come with me.”

  Aldo smoothed her hair. “Always.”

  They lay in bed, talking quietly, Aldo’s hand stroking her face until she felt herself drifting off to sleep, her head still pounding.

  The nightmare began as sweet memories of her and Indio and Enzo, down at Indio’s mother’s farmhouse in Tuscany, the summer heat, and picking olives in the grove. Indio teasing her, chasing her with a spider in his hand down the hill until they were both breathless, laughing and collapsing together. Indio plucking a bloom from the field of wild flowers and winding it around her finger. His lips were soft against hers. “Sposami?” Marry me?

  Elli found herself in a white dress before she could even say yes, drifting down the hallway of Aldo Constanza’s home. She was confused now …why was she here, of all places? Was it still Indio she was marrying?

  She pushed open the two hu
ge, white doors in front of her to see an altar and Indio waiting for her at the end of the aisle. As she moved toward him, she saw her brother, her Enzo, step in front of her. “Don’t do this, Elli, please. He’s not who you think he is …he’s dangerous.”

  “I love him, Enzo. I’ve always loved him.”

  Her brother’s image faded away, and she turned, smiling at her groom.

  “Listen to your brother.” Another voice behind her. She turned. Yvetta, herself in a wedding dress, but with the hilt of a knife protruding from a huge blood stain on the bodice. Yvetta smiled, as beautiful as in Aldo’s painting.

  “He did this to me, Elli. He will do it to you too.”

  Elli shook her head. “You don’t know him like I do …he isn’t capable.”

  Yvetta disappeared, and she was left alone with Indio. He took her hands and led her up the stairs toward a faceless priest who began to read the marriage ceremony.

  “If any person should have an objection …”

  “Yes.” A man’s voice, broken and full of grief. Elli turned to see Aldo staggering up to the altar, heartbroken, his face streaming with tears.

  “Please, Elli …don’t marry him …he’ll destroy you like you’ve destroyed me. Please …”

  Elli closed her eyes. “I’m sorry. I did love you for a time. I did.”

  When she opened, Aldo was gone and she was married. Her new husband looked down at her. “Come with me, my beautiful Elli.”

  Elli followed Indio into the hallway. In a flash, Indio cuffed her around the head, hard. Elli went down, confused and shocked. She looked around and the blood froze in her veins.

  The knife Indio was holding was huge, lethal.

  Oh, god, no …

  “I’m sorry, Elli, my beautiful Elli, but you know it has to end this way, don’t you?” He walked slowly toward her, and she started to crawl backward.

  He smiled down at her, his eyes soft. “I asked Aldo to come here, to see if you would be tempted, to see if you were true to me,” he said. “I had to get him here, so that you could be tested, my darling. And you failed. You fell in love with Aldo Constanza and let him put his hands on you.” He crouched next to her and grabbed her wrists, winding a rope around them. “He will find you here, stabbed to death. It will destroy him, and that’s all I want. Well, apart from seeing you die and your beautiful skin split under my knife. I’m going to butcher you, my darling, put my knife into your belly over and over until you are dead. Right now, Elli …”